Talk:Epiphragm

Question on the calcareous epiphragm in snails
This question and answer were copied from the talk page of the article on Estivation:

"I have recently seen snails in a state of estivation in Cyprus on wooden and concrete fences. The epiphragm produced is extremely durable and difficult to break. Has anyone information about how snails dissolve this epiphragm at end of hibernation? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.168.255.221 (talk) 20:53, 17 August 2009 (UTC)


 * In my experience it seems that a snail does not "dissolve" the structure, but simply pushes the epiphragm out in one piece, using its foot, in other words the epiphragm sort of "snaps out" around the edges. Judging by a Google search for "removing the epiphragm", this issue of the Nautilus seems to include an article that may confirm my observation: . The other thing to remember is that snails come out of estivation after it rains, when everything is wet and the air is damp, which may make this process easier. Invertzoo (talk) 21:59, 5 December 2009 (UTC)"


 * I thought it would be good to have a copy of this here. Invertzoo (talk) 22:06, 5 December 2009 (UTC)